WWE NXT champ Joe Hendry opens up about surprise WrestleMania 41 appearance, believing in himself

More than 60,000 fans packed Allegiant Stadium connected Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 with the buzz of the archetypal nighttime inactive filling the aerial and the anticipation that thing could hap connected the highly anticipated WWE lawsuit of the year.

WWE prima Randy Orton slithered astir the ring, awaiting his opponent. It could person been anybody arsenic the erstwhile champion was near without an opponent. But that nighttime successful Las Vegas was thing special. Not lone for Orton who was making his 20th WrestleMania appearance, but for the antheral who walked done the curtain and onto the entranceway ramp.

"Say his sanction and helium appears."

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Joe Hendry makes his entranceway during WrestleMania 41 Sunday astatine Allegiant Stadium connected April 20, 2025 successful Las Vegas, Nevada. (Craig Melvin/WWE via Getty Images)

Every pro wrestling instrumentality successful the location knew who was coming out. It could lone beryllium 1 person.

"I judge successful Joe Hendry."

Then the Total Nonstop Action (TNA) satellite champion, Hendry’s quality was a perennial infinitesimal for the sport. It was the archetypal clip a TNA contracted superstar appeared astatine WrestleMania. And it conscionable went to amusement that a viral propulsion from pro wrestling fans could spell a agelong way.

"It was an unbelievable moment," Hendry recalled to Fox News Digital. "I deliberation that is simply a infinitesimal that is adjacent beyond your wildest dreams. There are moments wherever you person to go, ‘Is this a dream? Walking retired astatine WrestleMania?’ I retrieve walking, being backstage, seeing the vignette marking 20 years of Randy Orton astatine WrestleMania, and for maine to beryllium the hostile and the astonishment opponent, it was conscionable specified a cleanable moment. And I’m truthful grateful."

It was astir 7 months aft his WrestleMania quality erstwhile Hendry was nary longer a TNA wrestler, but helium was a WWE superstar. He was thrust onto the NXT roster, already having familiarity with the rising stars who were connected the brand.

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Hendry rapidly made a sanction for himself. The Scottish prima whitethorn person mislaid his accidental to get a rubric changeable successful the Iron Survivor Challenge astatine NXT Deadline but helium redeemed himself earlier this month.

The Scottish wrestler won a ladder lucifer implicit Dion Lennox, Jackson Drake, Keanu Carver, Ricky Saints, Sean Legacy and Shiloh Hill to seizure the vacated NXT Championship.

Joe Hendry celebrates his triumph during NXT astatine the WWE Performance Center connected Feb. 3, 2026 successful Orlando, Florida. (Matt Pendleton/WWE via Getty Images)

"It means the world," helium said of being the NXT champion. "It’s precise humbling that with the magnitude of talented radical that we person moving successful the Performance Center and connected NXT that I’m the idiosyncratic who has the privilege to beryllium the champion and to correspond the brand. It’s a surreal feeling, but it’s a work that I instrumentality precise earnestly and I privation to present for NXT."

Hendry took the roadworthy little traveled to go a pro wrestler.

Inspired by WWE video games, Hendry told Fox News Digital helium became "totally obsessed" with the athletics arsenic helium watched pro wrestlers from the Attitude Era and earlier compete. He homed successful connected the different things that marque pro wrestlers spell from backyard tweeners to immortal icons similar the ringing gear, vignettes, entranceway songs and the like.

Hendry had golden medals successful freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling earlier his vocation truly took off. He competed successful Inane Championship Wrestling successful Scotland earlier moving astir to Discovery Wrestling and New Generation Wrestling. He had appearances successful Ring of Honor and World of Sport Wrestling earlier getting to Impact Wrestling, which aboriginal returned to its archetypal sanction of TNA.

But erstwhile did Joe Hendry commencement to judge successful Joe Hendry?

"I retrieve erstwhile I got my achromatic loop successful judo, that was truly the archetypal happening that I finished to completion successful my life," helium said. "I’d started a batch of things and stopped them. And erstwhile I did that, I was similar wow, I achieved the goal. Then aft that point, I realized that for a batch of people, the hard portion is they get truthful adjacent and conscionable to propulsion it implicit the line, I deliberation arsenic quality beings, that’s thing we each find difficult, but sometimes you request to springiness yourself support to triumph and spell instrumentality it each the mode to the finish.

"Thankfully, that’s what I was capable to bash successful the ladder lucifer and go NXT champion."

Joe Hendry during the Men’s Royal Rumble lucifer during the WWE Royal Rumble astatine Lucas Oil Stadium connected Feb. 1, 2025. (Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images)

Hendry present sits connected apical of the NXT roster arsenic the champion and the look of the brand. But he’s not the lone Scotsman who is doing that connected the WWE roster.

Drew McIntyre is the undisputed WWE champion arsenic helium gets acceptable to support his rubric astatine WrestleMania 42.

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"It was Drew that said to maine that Scotland is 0.068% of the world’s population, but we person a overmuch larger percent of WWE titles. So, precise arrogant to beryllium idiosyncratic that’s worked with Drew. The mode that radical speech astir the Undertaker successful the locker room, that’s however we saw Drew McIntyre erstwhile we were connected the independents. He was our Undertaker and truthful to spot him present arsenic undisputed WWE champion and for maine to beryllium NXT champion astatine the aforesaid clip is an astonishing feeling. He challenged maine erstwhile we worked together. He ever made maine amended and brought retired the champion successful me. So, I’d beryllium delighted if our paths could transverse again."

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